New Houston-area theme park under development

Erin Mulvane, Beaumont Enterprise

By Erin Mulvaney

Published 7:00 am, Thursday, February 21, 2013

Developers hope an empty, heavily wooded plot of land in New Caney will transform into a thriving entertainment district by 2015 - complete with a theme park, water park and a new dining and music scene and more elaborate attractions.
Photo: Courtesy Grand Texas

Developers hope an empty, heavily wooded plot of land in New Caney...

Developers hope an empty, heavily wooded plot of land in New Caney will transform into a thriving entertainment district by 2015 - complete with a theme park, water park and a new dining and music scene and more elaborate attractions.
Photo: Courtesy Grand Texas

Developers hope an empty, heavily wooded plot of land in New Caney...

Developers hope an empty, heavily wooded plot of land in New Caney will transform into a thriving entertainment district by 2015 - complete with a theme park, water park and a new dining and music scene and more elaborate attractions.
Photo: Courtesy Grand Texas

Developers hope an empty, heavily wooded plot of land in New Caney...

Developers hope an empty, heavily wooded plot of land in New Caney will transform into a thriving entertainment district by 2015 - complete with a theme park, water park and a new dining and music scene and more elaborate attractions.
Photo: Courtesy Grand Texas

Developers hope an empty, heavily wooded plot of land in New Caney - about 80 miles west of Beaumont - will transform into a thriving entertainment district by 2015 - complete with a theme park, water park and a new dining and music scene and more elaborate attractions.

Construction will begin on the Grand Texas Theme Park in October to be ready for a grand opening in March 2015 if all goes according to plan, said Monty Galland, a pre-development manager for the project.

Developers and officials in Montgomery County will close by the end of April on land on State Highway 242 and U.S. Highway 59, about 15 miles from the Woodlands and 10 miles north of Kingwood.

The cost of the water park, theme park, amphitheater and paintball arena, which will be supported by Galland's group, will cost $119 million. The other developments, which include restaurant and hotel areas, will add $95 million to the overall cost. The project was discussed at a Feb. 14 board meeting of the East Montgomery County Improvement District. Developers project first year attendance to be around 665,000 to eventually reach about 1.8 million after several years.

"There is no large-scale park north of the Interstate 10 freeway. ... We really feel like there is a void in this area," said Galland.

Galland said the idea is larger than a theme park and conceives of an entertainment district, complete with a water park, an amphitheater, a baseball stadium and a shopping and dining area.

He and other developers have been working on the concept of a theme park for about four years, but found their spot after some trial and error on the New Caney land. Others involved in the project have worked on major theme parks in the past and Galland said some Astro World veterans will help manage the new park.

The theme of Grand Texas will have its roots in Texas history, with educational exhibits and including a replica of a Native American village.

"It's not a Six Flags style park, it's got a lot more to it than rides," he said. "It will have entertainment, live music and stunt shows among other attractions."